Take Me Home
by SaruhhBeth
Summary: "Maggie and Glenn invite you to share with them the joy of their wedding day, on the Greene Family Farm." What happens when old friends return home to celebrate the marriage of loved ones? What happens when new faces are introduced to old ones? AU-No Zombies.
1. Chapter 1

_**Maggie & Glenn**  
__Together with their families  
__Margaret Elizabeth Greene + Glenn Rhee  
__invite you to share with them  
__the joy of their wedding day  
__on Saturday the fourteenth of August  
__two thousand fourteen  
__five o' clock in the evening  
__the Greene's Family Farm  
__Linden County, Georgia_

The high pitched squeal that escaped Maggie's throat filled the air of the small apartment kitchen as she clutched on of the invitations in her hand. "I can't believe we're actually gettin' married!"

Glenn stood across from her in the kitchen, leaning up against the counter as she spoke, his eyes never leaving her. "Me either." He shrugged his shoulders playfully as he earned himself a harsh stare from his soon-to-be wife. "I really knew we were made for each other when we were in college, and you smashed those eggs over my head and refused to talk to me when I pissed ya off."

She smiled as she wrapped her arms around her fiancé, closing the space between them with the invitation still in her hand as a soft laugh left her lips. "I did that more than once. I'm sorry." She paused as she let her brown eyes meet him, her mind filled with thoughts of their wedding. "And I can't believe in less than two weeks we'll be back home in Georgia with all our friends and family."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, this story is going to be completely AU…as in no zombies whatsoever. I've been reading a ton of really god stories on the site and it made me want to get back into writing. So, here I am! And, with this story, I promise regular updates. This was just a sort of sample chapter to see if people would actually be interested in reading a story like this…so with that being said, there are a few things I want to let you all in on;**

**This story will feature all of the main characters from the show, even some of those that have been killed off. Most of the characters grew up together in rural Georgia, some of them attending school together and some just being good family friends due to living in the same small town. At some point, they will all begin to separate and go their own ways, but information about that will be included in the story.**

**The ages in the story will differ from the ages in the show: Maggie will be 24 and Glenn 25. Rick and Lori will be around 35 and 36, having given birth to Carl around the age of sixteen and making him now 19. Shane and Daryl will be 30, Andrea around 28 and Amy 25. Carol will also be a young mother having given birth to Sophia at eighteen making Sophia 18 while she is 30. Beth will be 23 and any characters I may have forgotten here will be listed in the next chapter or so.**

******TITLE: Take Me Home  
RATED: T  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Walking Dead, trust me.**


	2. Chapter 2

**TITLE: Take Me Home  
RATED: M  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Walking Dead; the television show or the comics.**

**AUTHOR'S NOTES: I'm so pleased with the response that this story has gotten so far. A few reviews and a TON of people following and even putting it in their favorite's list, especially since the first chapter was so basic and conventional! This chapter's going to be much better than the first, so let's turn those follows into reviews, it really does fuel my fire to write.**

**A few things I want to touch on before we begin: A guest reviewer was kind enough to point out my mistake on Carol's age – Sophia is 18 and Carol is 36. Also, this is going to mainly be a Beth/Daryl story. All of the other characters will play big roles in the story, but it is going to center on that pairing. The final thing is that the first few chapters may be kind of odd seeing as they are setting up the storyline, so please be patient with that.**

Present Day - June 19, 2014 – Bethany Michelle Greene

_She doesn't own a dress  
her hair is always a mess  
Catch her stealing, she won't confess  
she's beautiful…_

The blonde took in a deep breath as the sunlight hit her face, warming her cheeks as the light breeze blew her blonde curls around her face. Atlanta, Georgia – the airport to be exact is exactly where she found herself. It had been more than a few years since she had been in Georgia, and to say she wasn't ready to be back would be an understatement. Still, it was where she found herself and there really wasn't anything she could do about it.

She let out a long sigh as she grabbed her bags, situating them on her arms before she made her way to the line of yellow taxis that were waiting for people to climb in a begin running up the meter. She wasn't picky in her selection as she leaned into the passenger window of one of the vehicles, letting the driver know where she needed to go and accepting his offer to help her put her luggage in the trunk.

Before she knew it, she was settled into the backseat, her entire past just a few hours away.

Beth bit her bottom lip, nearly drawing blood as she stared out the window, her tablet laying on the seat next to her as she listened to her favorite playlists on repeat, trying to calm and gather her nerves at the same time. She had been eighteen when she left the small town and the comfort of her family's farm house, and while she missed her family and friends greatly, she had yet to have returned home.

Her reasons for leaving in the first place were many, the death of her mother Annette and her older step-brother Shawn had been the main one. The death of two of the closest people to her heart had taken a huge toll on her, and while Maggie and Hershel, with the help of friends and family, had come together to heal the wounds. For some reason Beth hadn't found herself able to be a part of that and she still had the deep scars on her wrists as a reminder.

She had blamed college as her reasons for leaving, wanting to get out of the small town and find an amazing college in a big city where she could start a new life for herself. When she turned eighteen and graduated from the small high school in rural Georgia, she packed her bags and found her way up to New York, and she had been there ever since, studying law, waitressing, singing, and just making a life for herself the way she wanted too.

The sudden thought of the death of her mother and brother and the dramatic toll it took on her life when she tried to take her own made her squirm in her seat, suddenly feeling claustrophobic in the backseat of the cab. She opened her window as she leaned her head back against the seat, closing her eyes and trying to drown out everything except for her music.

The next hour or so passed by quickly and before she knew it the taxi driver had pulled the cab into the long driveway of the familiar farm house. She sucked in a deep breath as she thanked the taxi driver, handing him a wad of cash including a decent sized tip before she gathered her belongings from the backseat and climbed out of the cab, making her way to the trunk to get the rest of her luggage.

It was no sooner than she had managed to gather her bags and watch the cab pull away than she heard the loud, familiar voice filled the outside air.

"Bethy!" There was a pause in her voice before she heard it again. "Daddy, Beth's here!"

Beth smiled as she watched her older sister Maggie let the screen door slam shut behind her as she ran off the large front porch, arms extended as she pulled Beth into a huge hug. Beth dropped her bags in the driveway as she watched Glenn exit the house next, flashing her a slightly nervous wave as he stepped off the porch, greeting her with a hug before beginning to grab some of her things.

"Oh Beth, I'm so glad you're home!"

Her father's voice brought instant tears to her eyes as she looked up to see him now standing on the porch, hands on his hips and a huge smile on his face.

"Daddy!" Beth ran up the steps as she wrapped her arms around her father, leaving Maggie and Glenn to get her things for her. "I've missed you so much!" She exclaimed, pulling back from the hug but keeping her hands o her father's arms.

"It's been way to long Bethy."

**Not my finest work, I know. But like I said, please bear with me as I set everything up.  
DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE A REVIEW ON YOUR WAY OUT! (:**


	3. Chapter 3

**TITLE: Take Me Home  
RATED: M  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Walking Dead.**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: So that last episode, right?! Let me know your thoughts about it by leaving a review. ;) ALSO, I apologize majorly for any grammar or spelling mistakes that slip past me. I don't have anyone proof reading my work other than me, so occasionally things will get past me. Thanks so much for those who reviewed, I'd love to see more…it only takes a second to let me know what you think, and it fuels the fire to write. I have just a few notes and then we can get on with the story. Much love!**

**Slytherin-Princess10: I just want to say, I was very excited to see you post a review because your story "The Past Comes Home" is seriously amazing! Anyone who hasn't checked it out, please, please go read it! **

**PrincessShana: Just wanted to reply to your comment about Daryl's accent. I'm definitely going to write his accent in because it's a part of him…but I'm going to keep it a bit more on the subtle side. I've read fics that have his accent so prominent that it's almost hard to read and understand, so no worries there!**

* * *

Present Day – June 24, 2014 – Daryl Wayne Dixon and Shane Allan Walsh

_And I will always do my duty, no matter what the price.  
I've counted up the cost, I know the sacrifice.  
Oh, and I don't want to die for you,  
But if dying's asked of me,  
I'll bear that cross with honor,  
'Cause freedom don't come free._

"Who's still left to get here?" Beth's voice was soft as she sat at the kitchen table, watching her father move around gracefully as he fixed his youngest daughter breakfast. It was still early, and so far they were the only two awake.

It hadn't even been a full week since the petite blonde had arrived home, and so many other people had arrived within the past few days that it was hard to decide if anyone was left to show up. Rick Grimes, his wife Lori and their son Carl had shown up the same evening that Beth had arrived and had taken over one of the large bedrooms in the basement. Beth had known Rick and Lori for as long as she could remember, they had been good family friends and Rick had been the city's sheriff before they recruited him for the Atlanta Police Department. She had grown up with Carl, who was just a few years younger than she was, and up until she left for college while he was in high school, they had been close.

Carol Peletier had arrive the following morning with her daughter Sophia. Carol had always been one of Beth's favorite people and Beth had always been fond of her daughter. Again, Carol and her former husband Ed had been good friends of the family, however when Ed got locked up for beating up on his family, Carol and Sophia had been moved up to Kentucky to lay low for a while. Part of the reason why she was actually staying with the Greene's was because she planned to return at the end of the summer and regain a life in her hometown.

Other than that, Beth wasn't sure who was going to be staying with them. She knew Maggie's best friend Sasha was in town as well, but she figured she had decided to stay with her brother Tyreese, who had moved to the small town after the death of a family member a few years ago. He had taken over the family bar that sat just on the edge of the city, while his sister Sasha visited often, but stayed away at college, the same college Maggie and Glenn had both attended.

"Andrea and Amy arrived last night." Hershel kept his voice soft as he placed a plate full of fresh eggs, bacon, and fresh fruit in front of Beth before taking a seat across from her at the table. "Almost everyone had settled down for the night when they got in."

Beth smiled, more than excited to be reunited with Andrea and Amy. The set of blonde sisters, though a few years older, had always been very close to the Greene girls. Andrea and Shawn had grown up together, and it was through him that they all became very, very close.

"I can't wait to see them!" Beth exclaimed, taking a long drink of her coffee before digging into her breakfast, not even realizing how hungry she was.

* * *

"So, how's the big city treatin' yah?" Andrea's voice filled the warm morning air as she and Beth lounged comfortably on the porch furniture, sipping cups of warm coffee and just catching up.

Beth shrugged her shoulders lightly as she offered Andrea a soft smile. "It's amazing!" Her words were filled with mixed emotions as she continued to talk. "I mean, the city has been so good to me after…everything blew up here. People don't look at me like the little girl who tried to off herself, or the farmer's daughter. I've made an image for myself that isn't attached to Maggie or Daddy, or even Momma and Shawn." She paused as she searched her mind for the perfect words to answer the question. "And I love it, but it ain't home, yah know?"

Andrea nodded. She and Amy had left the rural Georgia town in search of something better in Nashville, so she knew what it was like to experience such a drastic change. However, unlike New York, there were still some of the same comforts of home offered in Tennessee. She was about to speak again when she stopped, narrowing her eyes slightly as she watched a white Jeep pull up the gravel driveway.

"Is that who I think it is?"

"Dear God, I hope not." Beth's answer followed Andrea's rhetorical question, earning herself a confused look from the older blonde as they watched to see just who would step out of the large SUV. "Oh my…" Beth's breath hitched in her throat as she watched Andrea stand up from her seat and excitedly make her way down the porch.

"Well, well, well….look what the cat coughed up!" Andrea smiled as she approached the two men who were now stepping out of the vehicle.

Both of the men smiled as Andrea moved down to welcome them, pulling them both into separate hugs as she laughed. It had been years since Beth had seen either of them. Seven years to be exact, and seven years that hadn't been long enough.

Beth smiled as she made her way down the porch and right into the arms of the taller of the two men. "Shane!" She smiled brightly as she pulled away from him, looking him up and down before turning to the other and taking him in as well. They were both dressed from head to toe in freshly cleaned Army uniforms – from the hat on their heads all the way down to their laced up boots.

"Beth?" The other man spoke her name as almost more of a question rather than a fact.

Beth felt her cheeks turn red as she plastered a smile on her lips, trying to keep the millions of emotions that were now running through her in check as she looked up at him, unsure of if she really wanted to hug him or not. "Daryl."

**DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE A REVIEW ON YOUR WAY OUT, IT ONLY TAKES A SECOND! (:**


	4. Chapter 4

**TITLE: Take Me Home  
RATED: M  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Walking Dead, do you?!**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you all so, so much for all the reviews and support you all have left me for this story. I'm enjoying writing it and I'm enjoying your comments. Keep them coming, like I've said…the reviews feed my fuel to write!**

* * *

_Only know you've been high when you're feeling low  
Only hate the road when you're missin' home  
Only know you love her when you let her go  
And you let her go_

_ The warm liquid spilled over the edge of the plastic red cup as she stumbled into the bathroom, giggling as she spilled even more of the mixed drink in an attempt to set it carefully on the sink. She let out a sigh as the smile fell from her face – now the reason why she slipped away from the party to begin with. The petite blonde moved her hands down to her jeans, quickly unbuttoning them before slipping them down to her knees as she moved her hands back up to the thin lacy panties she was wearing and pulled them down carefully. Just as she had expected, but just as she had dreaded for days. Nothing!_

"_Damnit!" She cursed under her breath. For the past two weeks she had been wearing her lights, sexiest, and most favorite underwear in hopes that the monthly red monster would finally come to show its wrath. However, just as she had dreaded, there was no such luck. _

_She had been so careful, they both had…but maybe not careful enough. She was barely eighteen and on her way to New York and he, a few long years older than her, was on leave and had returned home with a friend. They had run into each other at a party and he had made her laugh…the rest of the night was history. Now, here she was six weeks later and at one last party before her permanent departure to the big city, however instead of enjoying the party with her friends she had found herself standing in the bathroom with spilled liquor on her shirt, just praying for a pair of ruined panties._

"I cannot believe he is here!" Beth rolled her eyes as she stood in her bedroom, her older sister Maggie standing across from her on the carpeted floor. "I mean, hasn't he been gone from this deadbeat town for longer than me? Why would he come home now?"

The look on Maggie's face was less than pleased as she listened to her baby sister go on and on. "First of all, this is your hometown, Bethany, not some piece of shit city that you're stuck in because your car broke down. Second, unlike some people around here, Daryl Dixon has shown his face here multiple times over the past five years. And lastly, did you ever think that maybe he's here to…oh, I don't know…celebrate mine and Glenn's wedding?"

Beth paused, kinking her eyebrows as she looked at Maggie. "What do you mean he's come home?"

"Exactly how I said it. While you've been off in New York doing whatever the hell you're doing, the rest of your old friends from your 'deadbeat' hometown have been living their lives. Every time he is granted leave time, he comes home. Both him and Shane do." She paused, visibly frustrated at how dramatic her sister was being. "Just because you moved away and left everyone behind doesn't mean everyone just put their life on hold. The world doesn't revolve around you, and in case you forgot, these people are here for me and Glenn."

And with that, she was gone, stomping lightly out of the room and leaving Beth to wallow in her self-made drama.

* * *

Over the years, Hershel had kept himself busy by making changes to the farmhouse and the barn. After the death of his oldest child and his second wife, nearly losing his youngest to a razor blade and then losing her to the city, and finally letting go of his middle child to the love of her life, he just needed to keep himself busy. So, he had renovated the porch on the farmhouse, and made some drastic changes to the barn – like adding a livable loft to the top of the barn rather than simply storing hay up there. He always hoped his babies would have babies of their own, and this would give even more room for his children to return home with their families, and if nothing else would give a good place for his grandchildren to play. It wasn't anything special, really just a large bedroom, but it was something, and for the course of the summer it would be the home to Daryl and Shane.

"So, what's up with you and little Miss Beth Greene?" Shane smirked as he fumbled with the air mattress in an attempt to successfully pull it out. "Though, she ain't so little anymore."

Daryl rolled his eyes as he tossed the extra sheets Hershel had given them onto the floor before grabbing his own air mattress box. "Fuck, now yah just sound like Merle."

Shane just laughed and shook his head, and for the next few minutes the only sound that surrounded them was the soft hum of the electric pump that they had been given along with the air mattresses. Finally, after what seemed like more than just a few minutes, Daryl's rough voice filled the air.

"I don' know though, man." He ran a hand through his scruffy hair as he spoke, keeping his eyes on his blow up mattress rather than looking at his buddy. "I mean, you know how hot and heavy we were over leave a few years back."

Shane nodded his head lightly, a smirk toying on his lips. "When she was barely legal and you were both desperate to get it in."

Daryl rolled his eyes. "It wasn't like that. I mean, t' kinda was, but it was more too." He paused, finally looking up at Shane as he spoke. "I've known her for her whole life, but after that party things jus' changed. It may've been jus' a fling, but she made me open up ta her."

It was completely unlike Daryl to open up to anyone. He had been a troubled child from a broken home, and even into his adulthood his troubles stayed with him. He was broken, and up until he hit it off with Beth at the party, he didn't think there was anyone that could even attempt to fix him. He and Beth may have been brief, but he knew something had been there, so when she cut him off unexpectedly he had been confused. However, being rough around the edges, stubborn as hell, and broken, he hadn't done anything in an attempt to keep things going. He had simply given up and carried on with his life the best he could.

"It was just a fling, yah know? Nothin' less and nothin' more."

Shane shrugged his shoulders. It was an odd friendship that had formed, but over their years together in the military and simply having grown up together, Shane and Daryl had become close. "Whatever you say."

Daryl was about to open his mouth to say something else when a soft, familiar voice filled the room, interrupting both the men as the small blonde stepped into the room. "Daddy and Lori told me to come get ya'll. They said dinner's about to be done." She paused as she looked between Shane and Daryl.

**I'm trying to keep these chapters around 1500 words, give or take, that way it's not too much information to take in. Once I get the general stories set up (which will be throughout the first five or six chapters) the chapters will get longer and the story much more in depth. **

**Also, I should note that Daryl and Shane have been in the military since they were around eighteen, so they've been gone much longer than five years. However, when Maggie and Beth were talking, Beth hasn't returned from New York in about five or so years so that's where she was getting those numbers from.**

**PLEASE CONTINUE TO SHOW LOVE AND SUPPORT BY LEAVING A REVIEW ON YOUR WAY OUT! (:  
MUCH MORE TO COME IN THE UPCOMING CHAPTERS!**


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